Lawson Road House

Additions to an existing roadsidehouse redirect the focus of the primary living spaces to enjoy privacy andviews of a stunning rural landscape. A diaphanous gallery connector overlays the existing structure, bridgingthe old and new areas. A longterrace off the length of the gallery is punctuated by a shade trellis at itsnorth end. The new entry ispositioned at the home's midpoint with a frosted glass door and adjacentclerestory windows for privacy from the road.

Additions to the house were designedto make places in and gently connect to the landscape, responding to theOwners' program and modernist preferences. The curved roof of the new living room addition converseswith the undulating hillsides, while long lean massing maintains a low profile,deferring to the flow of the land. The structures are shaped and positioned to capture a soft-edgedexterior space, appreciated year-round through large glazed areas.

Cherry flooring is used for the mainliving space, with gray stone tile in the new entry and gallery leading to therefinished wide board pine floors in the existing areas. The living room fireplace is faced witha brushed zinc panel system, with adjacent walls along the roadside elevationaccommodating firewood on one side and concealing a basement access stair onthe other beneath clerestory windows. Solar shades are built in and a slidingpanel in the living room conceals the television and AV components. Bright color accents complete thepanoramic landscape and glow in the afternoon sun.

Detailing is minimal and intended as a counterpoint to the richness of thenatural landscape.